Fallout
by Weesta
Summary: In the days following Douglas' invasion, everyone has to deal with the fallout. Sequel to "Invasion".
1. Donald

Donald Davenport blinked to clear his vision. When that didn't work he furiously rubbed the heels of his hands into his eyes, but that only caused negative sunspots to cloud his sight. Wearily he sank into one of the stools in front of the mission console, put his head down on his folded arms and closed his eyes.

_I just need a minute to rest. I'll get back to work in a minute._

Giving his body a chance to rest did not mean Davenport's mind stopped racing. He couldn't help but replay all of the things that had happened, like watching that one part in a horror movie that scares you the most, but you can't look away. He knew he couldn't stay focused on that or he'd never get anything done, so he switched tracks and tried to calculate how long it had been since this nightmare began. Focusing on what he'd been able to accomplish in the aftermath of Douglas' invasion made him feel calmer and regain a little sense of control.

The first hour after Douglas had been taken away by Davenport Industry security was more than a little frightening with a side order of creepy. It had taken Eddie nearly that long to reboot the power to the main console and run a systems check. The lab was lit by emergency lights, but even they were spotty because Adam and Chase had caused so much damage when they were fighting. Every once in a while a display that was clinging to life would short out in a shower of sparks that would then leave another pocket of shadows in the lab. The dim lighting was reflected in the somber mood of everyone working to assess the damage; even Leo worked quip-free, with an increasingly concerned frown on his face.

Donald ran multiple diagnostics on Chase with the equipment that was available - there wasn't much that hadn't been destroyed in the battle between the boys – while he waited for replacements to be delivered from Davenport Industries. There was no telling how much damage the energy blast from Adam had caused, or how lasting the injury might be. In that first hour Chase lay still as a statue on the cot Bree wrestled in from storage. It was very, very strange to see Chase laid out in that way; it was so different from the way he normally slept in his capsule.

Little by little equipment came in from the warehouses in that second hour. Everything was delivered to the storage unit outside of the lab where he kept the "smart" car and golf carts. At first Bree and Leo struggled to move everything in on their own. Davenport was so caught up in trying to assess Chase's bionics, trying to get any sort of reading that made sense that he didn't realize Adam was still sitting on the floor in front of Chase's capsule, in front of the open door. It wasn't until Leo dropped the end of the machine he was carrying on his foot and let out a yelp that Donald looked up and yelled in exasperation, "Adam! Why aren't you helping them?"

When he heard his name, Adam's head snapped up. Every muscle in his body bunched and he looked like he was ready to rise, but he didn't get up off the floor. Donald's stomach lurched when he realized that the reason Adam didn't move was that no one had given him a direct order. Asking 'why aren't you helping' is not the same as ordering "help them". Even with the remote in his hand, Adam was not in control of his own bionics because he couldn't give himself the order to help out.

Leo and Bree looked dismayed as they came to the same conclusion as Davenport. Bree's bottom lip trembled. Adam waited on the precipice of springing into action. Donald put the scanner he was holding down next to Chase. He wiped his hand down his face as he approached Adam.

"Adam, I'm so sorry…I didn't realize…"

Davenport crouched down next to his oldest son much like he had earlier. Adam's dark eyes met his, pleading for release. "I don't have what I need to help you yet…" He waved his hand toward the storage doors. Then he threw a glance over his shoulder at the cot where Chase lay immobile. "Chase is still unstable…"

Davenport looked back at Adam. He knew he had to choose his words carefully; though Douglas' remote was on the lowest setting, it was still influencing Adam. "I want you to help Bree and Leo bring in the equipment." Adam jumped to his feet, relief evident on his face that he could finally _do_ something.

"Adam," Donald continued. He waited until the tall boy looked back at him. He held his left hand over Adam's right which still held the remote control. "You can speak for yourself. You give yourself the orders you need to. Do you understand?"

Adam heaved a grateful sigh. "Yeah. Thanks, Mr. Davenport." Adam stuck the remote in the pocket where he usually kept his granola bars and jogged over to join Bree and Leo.

Once Adam joined the others moving equipment, they were up and running more quickly. Little by little the technology came back on line. Inch by inch progress was being made. But all the technology in the world couldn't make Chase wake up. The minutes went by at a crawl as Chase remained unresponsive.

In the third hour, the lights came back on; Davenport almost wished they hadn't. It wasn't the damage in the lab that was so troubling to see, it was the damage they had done to each other. Physically, Adam was in the best shape – even fighting Chase in full on Commando Mode, Adam had the advantage of height, strength and the ability to use his heat vision from a distance. Adam was sporting some bloody knuckles and that was about it. Bree, on the other hand, had a very impressive black eye and bruising that covered most of the right side of her face from the temple down her cheek. Leo found an extremely large slab of steak in the fridge in the kitchen that Bree was holding against her face to keep the swelling down. Occasionally she had to swat Adam away when he leaned in to take a bite. But Chase was the hardest to look at.

In the harsh fluorescent lights of the lab, Chase's skin had a waxy pallor. He had a bruise and a lump rising on his left temple from where he'd had a high impact collision with a wall. His left ear was bloody too. The worst bruising though, was the black and purple ring around Chase's throat; the imprint of Adam's thumb above Chase's Adam's apple led to an unbroken ring of bruising around his neck until it ended in four, individual fingerprint shaped marks. Davenport resisted the urge to kiss Leo's feet when he arrived with ice packs to minimize the swelling; they had the added benefit of hiding the worst of Chase's injuries.

Another hour passed. Adam and Bree parked themselves at the main console. Adam swung restlessly on one of the stools, his eyes always on Chase who was only a few feet away. Bree, sat unusually still, sitting up on the counter in Chase's favorite spot; like Adam she kept her eyes on their youngest brother. Leo was surprisingly helpful doing small jobs to keep himself busy, and he didn't cause anything else to explode which was a minor miracle all by itself.

More equipment arrived, more diagnostics were run. Time should've moved faster, but it didn't.

Davenport rubbed his bleary eyes as the information on the screen wavered. He heard a soft sigh behind him and Bree cried out, "What's wrong? What is he doing?"

Davenport whirled and didn't immediately notice anything wrong. Adam and Bree were on their feet looking at Chase who had rolled over to face them. It took Donald a minute to figure it out.

Chase rolled over to face them.

Davenport's face lit up in a grin and he caught Leo's eye. Leo was wearing an equally hopeful expression. But Bree was still distressed. "Is he supposed to do that?"

Davenport swiftly walked around the cot near Chase's head since Adam and Bree were huddled down by his feet.

"It's okay, Bree," Davenport reassured her. "He just rolled over in his sleep." Donald chuckled to himself and laid his left hand on Chase's head. He gently ran his fingers through Chase's hair and readjusted an ice pack that had been dislodged when Chase moved. "It's normal. It's totally normal."

Adam and Bree had no idea how relieved Chase's completely mundane act of rolling over in his sleep made Donald feel. At the very least, the energy blast from Adam had not permanently impacted Chase's muscle function. And even though he wasn't in his capsule, his body was doing it's best to heal itself by sending Chase down into a natural, deep sleep. It was the best thing that happened all day.

That very small movement from Chase relaxed something in all of them. Davenport felt secure enough to send the other three upstairs to eat and get some sleep. Adam looked like he might protest, and Donald was extremely reluctant to override any command Adam gave to himself, but Bree convinced him it was for the best. Donald tried not to hear the part where Bree promised Adam he could cook the steak she'd been holding on her face to eat for dinner.

That had been hours ago. Five or six…maybe more. Chase was still sleeping and Donald was still working. This night was just the beginning. Donald Davenport knew that the fallout had barely begun.


	2. Adam

Adam stared at the wall across the room from where he was standing. It was hard to sleep outside of his capsule. At first he tried sleeping in a bed in one of the guest rooms that Tasha insisted on making out of one of Mr. Davenport's game rooms. Adam didn't understand why Tasha got all bent out of shape over the argument that a video game room and a pinball machine room were two very different kinds of rooms and shouldn't be mixed. It wasn't long before Mr. Davenport combined the game rooms and turned the pinball room over to "guest room" status. It looked like a boring, old bedroom to Adam, but it made Tasha happy.

But sleeping in a bed was weird. Sleeping with blankets was weird. Adam quickly gave up the bed and tried sleeping in the closet. That was a little better.

Not seeing the dim lights from the lab consoles was weird. Not hearing the hum of the computers and the beeps of the machinery in the lab was weird. But being alone was the worst.

Adam crept down the hallway to the room that was Bree's. Ever since she temporarily moved upstairs, Tasha kept it as a bedroom for her; she mostly used it as a place to get away from the boys when she was trying to talk on the phone with Kaitlyn. A quick glance inside showed that Bree was absent. Adam moved on.

Eventually, Adam ended up in Leo's room. He couldn't explain why being in the chaos of Leo's bedroom made him feel so much better. It couldn't have been more different from the lab. Where the lab was sleek and organized, Leo's bedroom was a mess of clothing, games, books and every other thing that caught his attention. Leo himself was sprawled out on his bed under a mess of blankets; all Adam could see was the top of his head and one foot sticking out from under the covers.

Adam headed over to the closet and was nearly crushed in an avalanche of stuff when he opened the door. Hastily he threw his shoulder against the door to quickly shut it and keep everything inside. When he turned to look over his shoulder, afraid that he'd woken Leo with the noise, Adam was surprised to see that Leo was completely unaffected. He didn't even twitch.

_That's what I call a sound sleeper!_

Since the closet wasn't an option, Adam simply made himself comfortable standing in front of it and stared at the opposite wall. It wasn't the same as being in his capsule, but at least he wasn't alone. The soft, green light from Leo's digital clock was comforting and the air blowing through the air conditioning vent carried a familiar, mechanical sound; but the sound of Leo's breathing was the most soothing noise to Adam, and he felt himself drifting off to sleep.

* * *

"_Adam! Adam! You don't want to do this!" Chase's plea floated out of the darkness._

_Adam was trapped in the black. He felt like he was bound by chains and the chains were being pulled in every direction. He needed to break free, but he was helpless. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest because something very bad was coming and he knew he needed to stop it._

_A voice answered Chase back. "You should know that he's got no free will. Not anymore."_

_Adam's heart did a flip in his chest – it was evil uncleDaddyDavenport! He exerted all of his super strength, but he couldn't move anything; he had absolutely no control. His breathing started to come in rapid gasps._

_Suddenly Adam's vision came back and he was flooded with images. Stalking Chase around the lab. Taking a wide-armed swing at Bree and watching her collapse to the floor unconscious. Throwing Chase so hard against the wall that his head bounced against it._

_All the while, Adam's heart thundered; he could hear the blood rushing in his ears. He had to regain control. He had to stop this before it got worse._

_But he failed._

_Adam collared Chase with one hand. The youngest bionic teen could hardly stand on his feet after the pounding he'd taken from his big brother. "Adam, please," Chase pleaded. "Let me out."_

_Everything in Adam wanted to do what Chase asked. He wanted let his brother out of his capsule, and then spin around and smash Douglas in the face for everything he'd done. But he couldn't move a muscle. He couldn't change a thing._

"_I can't be Spike…I can't be Spike permanently." Adam could see the stark fear in Chase's face. He knew how much Chase loathed to lose control of himself when Spike took over, and for the first time Adam understood exactly how it felt. "Please Adam, you have to let me out."_

_Adam could feel the power building. Somewhere behind them Douglas was using the remote to activate Adam's energy pulse. Adam shook his head; he tried to use his hold on the door and frame to push himself away from Chase. It was no use. He looked up and met his brother's eyes. Chase stepped back in fear and Adam's heart broke._

_Blue light replaced the black._

* * *

Adam woke up with a start. He took a stumbling step forward just to prove to himself that he could but in the dark he couldn't see the obstacles in Leo's room. The rolling chair crashed into the desk sending the lamp smashing to the floor. _That_ woke Leo who was startled to find he was not alone. Leo's girly yelp of surprise was strangely comforting to Adam because it was so…Leo. All of the noise brought Bree running in at lightening speed. The light from the hallway helped Adam feel calmer as well. His heart was still pounding in his chest, but his brain was starting to catch up with the fact that it was just a dream.

"Adam! Leo! Are you okay?" Bree asked in concern.

Leo gathered his blankets around him like an overstuffed toga. "What the heck, Adam?!" he yelled at the same time.

Adam stepped back to lean against the closet. "Sorry. Sorry…I didn't mean…" Adam had difficulty catching his breath and didn't see the concerned look that flashed between Bree and Leo.

Leo changed his tone and moved closer to Adam. He was unnerved at seeing the happy-go-lucky member of the team so seriously rattled. "So much for getting some sleep, "Leo announced. "Who's up for some hot chocolate?"

"That sounds good, Leo," Bree answered for them both. "Why don't you go get that started? We'll be right there."

Bree moved closer and Adam was absurdly grateful that the light from the hallway shone on the unmarked side of her face; for just a moment he could pretend that he didn't cause all of the bruising on the other side. "Adam?" Bree asked quietly. "Are you okay?"

Adam nodded, but didn't look Bree in the eye. "Just a bad dream. It's weird not sleeping in our capsules, you know?"

Bree nodded in agreement. "Come have some hot chocolate," Bree said and she headed toward the door.

Adam responded immediately to the command, and then he froze. Bree winced when she realized what had happened. "Adam, I'm so sorry," Bree apologized.

Adam waved her off and reached for the remote he had tucked into the pocket of his pajama pants. He gripped the controller to prove to himself that it was still in his possession. "It's okay, Bree." This time Adam did look his sister in the eye. "I got this."

Bree hesitated, and then turned to leave the room. She turned back to say, "I'll see you down there."

Adam waved in acknowledgement. When the sound of Bree's footsteps on the stairs faded away, Adam took Douglas' remote out of his pocket. Just looking at the thing gave him the creeps. "I give myself the orders." Adam said aloud. "I'm going downstairs for hot chocolate."

Then Adam's gaze turned deadly serious, and an expression that was very unlike him crossed his face. He spoke down to the remote in his hand, "And if I ever get the chance…I'm going to destroy you."


	3. Bree

After Mr. Davenport sent them out of the lab and up to the kitchen to eat, Bree found herself in charge of Adam and Leo. Adam was easy enough to feed; he cooked the steak she'd been holding on her face with his laser vision. Shockingly, neither she nor Leo was inclined to share when Adam offered. Leo put together a bowl of cereal, and Bree stuck to finger foods like fruit and crakers. Her right eye was nearly swollen shut and it was very hard to see; she didn't want to try to eat off a spoon or a fork with only one good eye to guide her hand.

The meal was eaten mostly in silence, with none of the usual banter, teasing or arguing. There was a big, gaping hole where Chase was supposed to be but none of them wanted to address it. It didn't seem right to sit around and watch a movie or play games, and Mr. Davenport said they needed to try and sleep, so after eating everyone turned in.

Bree curled up on the couch Tasha picked out for her to match the décor in her room. Even though she'd gone back to sleeping down in the lab, this room was still considered "her" space - when the boys gave her ten minutes alone. Usually the cozy peach couch was her favorite spot to sit and relax. She even picked up her cell phone thinking she would call Kaitlyn as a distraction even though it was practically the middle of the night, but she wasn't in the mood to deal with Kaitlyn's babbling. What Bree wanted was someone to listen to _her_; but she could hardly call up Kaitlyn and explain how their evil creator had invaded their home, turned her brothers against one another and almost single-handedly destroyed everything! She couldn't help going over the events of the last few hours in her head.

* * *

Bree should've been more suspicious when Adam gestured her over to the rock wall; she assumed he was setting up a prank on Chase, but he didn't explain his goofy plan or giggle at something he had hidden. Adam was too quiet, but Bree didn't put it together until the handcuff snapped shut around her right wrist. Bree straightened up and pulled away in shock, and that's when she saw Douglas with the remote. Chase, Leo and Mr. Davenport walked into the lab moments later through the main set of double doors. Chase saw the danger before Bree had a chance to call out; he dove and dragged Leo to safety under his Mission Specialist console, but Mr. Davenport was hit by a blast of energy from another devise Douglas produced.

Bree watched helplessly as Mr. Davenport was hoisted to hover above Leo's station. Chase quickly got back on his feet and immediately tried to reason with Adam, but it was no use; Douglas was in complete control of Adam's bionics. Bree watched the boys stalk around the lab. It wasn't until Douglas switched to voice control that there was finally something Bree could do. Unfortunately, invoking her voice manipulation only ended up getting her smashed in the face and knocked unconscious.

When she roused shortly afterwards, Bree was dismayed to see how quickly the situation had gotten ugly. It was obvious that Spike had usurped Chase, and watching the boys fight each other made Bree feel sick. She once told Leo not to interfere when her brothers were squabbling and using their powers on each other; "they're bionic brothers…that's the way they roll," she'd said then. But that was when both of them were in their right minds and in control of their actions.

But worse than watching Adam and Chase destroy the lab while attempting to destroy each other was listening to the casual way Douglas talked about taking Adam and Bree away and leaving Chase's body for Mr. Davenport to bury. It chilled Bree down to her bones. **That** was the man who had all of Adam's super strength at his disposal!

With everyone's focus on the boys, Bree slowly climbed to her feet and tried to make a plan. She felt utterly useless – what good was her super speed when she was tied to one spot? Bree yanked her hand fruitlessly against the handcuff. But then she looked down at the steel bar that the other end of the cuff was chained to; it was rough, it looked almost serrated. If she could move the chained end of the handcuff fast enough against the rebar, she could create enough friction to melt herself out of the handcuffs. Bree kept half an eye on the lab as she turned her body to hide what she was doing. The handcuff on her wrist bit into her skin, but she ignored the pain; she could see the metal inside the rock wall heating up. Her plan was working!

In spite of her super speed, Bree still wasn't fast enough. She wasn't fast enough to stop Adam from nearly choking the life out of Chase. She wasn't fast enough to prevent Douglas from using Adam's energy blast against Chase. But when Adam resisted Douglas' orders, and Leo used Eddie to shut down the power, Bree was finally fast enough to make a difference. In a blur she raced between Adam and Douglas and whisked Chase out of his capsule. Bree's gut clenched as she remembered the feeling of Chase's dead weight on her back and the way his head bounced against her shoulder.

It was still unclear if the move she made came too late.

* * *

_I could never tell Kaitlyn any of that!_ Frustrated, Bree dropped the cell phone on the side table. Her right foot tapped against the couch of its own volition. _I can't just sit here!_

Bree buzzed down to the first floor. She tidied up the living room, and then took the dishes out of the dishwasher and cleaned them by hand instead of letting the machine do it. But that took hardly any time at all. She sped upstairs to check on the boys; Adam had stationed himself in Leo's room and they both looked like they were sleeping; Bree was only a little jealous.

Mr. Davenport said they had to go upstairs to eat and try to sleep. Well, Bree had done both and he never said they couldn't come back down to the lab. Bree flashed downstairs – taking the secret staircase was so much quicker than waiting for the pokey elevator – but she didn't announce herself. Mr. Davenport was busy doing technical things. For the first time ever, Bree wished she had enough knowledge in order to do something useful and help. It was awful just standing around waiting for Chase to wake up.

Bree looked more keenly at Chase. He'd rolled back onto his back, but didn't look so still and as pale as he had in those first few hours. His left arm was down by his side, but his right hand lay across his stomach. It concerned Bree that, even in his sleep, Chase looked like he was in pain.

_I bet those ice packs aren't cold any more._

Finally, there was something Bree could do! In a flash she was up to the kitchen and back down to the lab. She swiftly replaced the compresses on Chase's neck and it looked to her like the tension in his face eased. Bree returned the warm ice packs to the freezer and was startled by a crash and yelling from upstairs.

"Adam! Leo! Are you okay?" Bree asked in concern as she burst into Leo's bedroom.

"What the heck, Adam?!" Leo yelled simultaneously.

In the light from the hallway Adam looked shaken and pale. "Sorry. Sorry…I didn't mean…" He leaned heavily against the closet door as he tried to pull himself together. Leo glanced and Bree and she knew he was as concerned as she was about their biggest brother.

Leo broke the tension by announcing that they should all go get some hot chocolate. Bree jumped right on that bandwagon. "That sounds good, Leo," Bree answered for Adam and herself. "Why don't you go get that started? We'll be right there."

As soon as Leo headed for the hallway, Bree stepped closer to Adam. He was still shaky, but appeared to be a little calmer. "Adam?" Bree asked quietly. "Are you okay?"

"Just a bad dream. It's weird not sleeping in our capsules, you know?" Bree could tell that everything Adam said was true, but he refused to look her in the eye. He wasn't telling her everything. It wasn't like Adam to keep things to himself, but Bree didn't think this was the time to push him to share more, so she just nodded in agreement.

"Come have some hot chocolate," Bree stated as she headed for the door. She heard Adam move behind her, and then he froze. Bree winced. That was an order; she'd given Adam a direct order and he had no choice but to obey. Her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach as she whirled to face Adam.

"Adam, I'm so sorry," Bree apologized.

Adam waved her off and reached for the remote he had tucked into the pocket of his pajama pants. "It's okay, Bree." This time Adam did look her in the eye and that relieved Bree greatly. "I got this."

Bree hesitated, and then turned to leave the room. She felt like she had to say something before she left, and it was surprisingly hard not to phrase what she wanted to say as a command. She turned back to say, "I'll see you down there."

Bree left Adam standing in Leo's bedroom and trotted downstairs to join Leo in the kitchen. She had to give Leo credit; he was the king of comfort food. For Leo, having hot chocolate included marshmallows, whipped cream, peppermint sticks, graham crackers and broken bits of chocolate bars.

When he saw her coming, Leo waved his arm over the counter like a game show host displaying a fabulous prize. "Get your hot chocolate on!" Leo grinned. He passed Bree a large mug, and had another ready for Adam when he joined them.

Leo juggled his mug and the huge comforter he was wrapped in as he made his way over to the L-shaped couch. He made himself a nest in the corner of the couch closest to the door. Bree settled in the middle, holding her mug in both hands; she liked the way the heat seeped into her fingers. Adam sat on the far side of the couch, his long legs stretched out on the cushions that made the short part of the L. None of them were in the mood for sleeping, but no one was in the mood for conversation either. Leo used the remote to turn on the television and picked a random movie channel to watch.

Time passed with very little meaning. One movie ended and and new one began. It was actually one of Chase's favorites; something about Shark Boy and his sidekick. It would've been so much better if…

A soft noise in the kitchen caught Bree's attention. Mr. Davenport stepped out of the elevator. Bree sat up straight, eager to hear some news. Then her jaw dropped. Mr. Davenport had stepped to the side to let Chase get by him.

"Chase!" Bree's cry was elated.

In a flash she was across both rooms and caught Chase up in a hug. It was a good thing Mr. Davenport was right there to hold him up or Bree would've knocked Chase right over with her momentum. Bree had never been so glad to feel Chase hug her back. Moments later Adam joined the group and picked up all three of them in his enthusiasm. Even Leo got in on the hug when he jumped like a spider monkey on Adam's back.

Best. Hug. Ever.


	4. Donald - II

The down side to being a super genius is that your brain works far too fast for the rest of you to keep up. Donald Davenport had a list of about eight hundred and twelve things his brain was telling him to do _right now_. Of those eight hundred and twelve things he'd only done one – he chartered a flight and called Tasha asking her to come back from her assignment in New York. There were so many things he had to do, but he couldn't leave the kids unsupervised in the condition they were in. There was no one other than Tasha he could trust with their care until they were all back on their feet.

Once Tasha got home then Donald could really get to work on all the things that needed to be addressed: upgrade their home security; get Adam out from under the control of Douglas' remote; replace the capsules and reprogram their operating systems completely. Donald already had a team of technicians on standby ready to swoop into the lab and replace all the equipment. Of course they didn't know that they'd have their memories wiped of all that they helped accomplish, but they'd have a nice bonus in their bank accounts to compensate for the confusion.

Davenport's mind wandered as he fiddled with a gadget at his work station; he was reluctant to start anything until Chase was awake and out of the lab. He was probably overreacting with the decision to replace the capsules completely, especially since the bionic teens would be without them in these first crucial days while they were healing, but he wasn't willing to take the risk. Douglas was too good at programming and too driven with revenge for Donald to believe that although he was unable to go through with his plan that he hadn't left a few encoded landmines behind. There was no way in hell that Donald was letting Chase get back into that capsule without being absolutely sure that Douglas hadn't left some nasty surprises behind.

"Mr. Davenport?"

Donald whirled around from the station where he was working; and all thoughts of his psychopathic brother flew out of his head. Chase was awake and looking at him.

"Chase!" Donald jumped up out of his chair and stepped over to the medical stretcher where the youngest bionic teen had been sleeping. He couldn't prevent the gigantic smile that spread across his face, and Chase responded with a weary smile of his own.

Donald put a hand on Chase's chest when the boy struggled to sit up asking, "Where's Adam? Bree?"

"Hold on...hold on, Chase. Not so fast." Donald did a little dance, stretching to reach his equipment on the table without losing contact with Chase and keeping him in place. It took Donald a second to realize why Chase wasn't listening to him; he gave up his efforts to grab a scanner and turned back to Chase. The teen's expression was filled with anxiety.

"They're upstairs."

Chase froze as he processed the information. Donald continued quickly. "I sent them upstairs to eat and get some sleep hours ago."

Chase's hazel eyes were wide as he searched Davenport's face praying that what he was being told was actually the truth. Chase clutched the hand on his chest with his right hand while he propped himself up on his left elbow.

"They're okay? Bree's okay? Leo too?" Chase swallowed hard. "And Adam? Where's Douglas?"

Donald could see that Chase wasn't going to relax until he had more information. He was actually very relieved that Chase was talking and asking so many questions; there was no way to assess how Adam's energy pulse effected Chase's bionic brain until he started using it. Davenport nodded as he assisted Chase into a seated position.

"I'll explain everything, let's just get you settled."

Chase used Donald as support as he swung his legs over the side of the cot. The questions stopped as Chase oriented himself; he used his left hand to brace himself, and still had his right hand holding on to Donald to keep himself upright. Donald was a little concerned about overall muscle weakness.

"Head rush," Chase mumbled in explanation.

"Can you sit by yourself for a second while I get my equipment?" asked Donald. Chase nodded and managed not to fall off the stretcher; Davenport took that as a good sign.

Gathering up the equipment gave Donald a chance to strategize and work out what he wanted to tell Chase. Of everyone who was in the lab when Douglas invaded, Chase would be the one who remembered the least. The teen never had any memory of what he did when Spike usurped his programming, and then he'd been knocked out by the blast from Adam. Donald knew that the holes in his memory deeply disturbed Chase because he felt profoundly responsible for whatever Spike had done when Chase wasn't in control; and it was likely the last thing he remembered was the impulse to go after and destroy Adam.

Davenport turned back to the cot. Chase's head was down but he wasn't using his arms to keep himself steady any longer. His hands were clasped loosely in his lap and his legs dangled over the edge of the cot.

"The good news is everyone's fine." Donald began with no preamble. Chase's head came up as he looked over to listen. "A few more bumps and bruises than usual..."

Chase's gaze clouded; Davenport didn't know if he was thinking about Bree's injury, which had upset Chase enough to make him glitch and send him into Commando Mode, or the unknown damage he caused to Adam while Spike was in control.

Donald stepped in front of Chase. "You've actually got most of the worst of them," Davenport mused as he brushed the bruising on the right side of Chase's neck with his fingertips.

Chase blinked, and his fingertips followed Donald's. It was as though he only just realized he'd been injured too.

Donald shone a small flashlight in Chase's eyes to check his pupil reactions. It was one small thing in their favor that it didn't look like Chase had a concussion on top of everything else. "How's your head?" Donald asked as he gently probed the bump on Chase's left temple.

Again Chase's hand drifted up to explore an injury he didn't remember getting. "Uh...a little achy."

"And your vision? Is anything blurry? Any pixilation?" asked Davenport.

Chase squinted and peered across the lab. "Nope. If that mangled piece of steel is all that's left of that stool in the corner, then I can see just fine."

Donald threw a glance of his shoulder. Although they had cleaned up a lot, there was still plenty of wreckage in the lab. But now that Chase was awake, Donald could move forward with the next part of his plan.

"Mr. Davenport, what about the others?" Even though he wasn't on top of his game, Chase was hard to sidetrack.

"Maybe it'd be best if you could see for yourself," Donald suggested. Chase lit up at the suggestion. Davenport looked down at his watch. It was close to 4 a.m. and in the condition they were in he wasn't sending anyone to school – no doubt he'd be getting another call from Principal Perry about them being absent - so Donald had no qualms about waking people up if it helped Chase settle down.

Chase made an attempt to hop off the cot. The hopping part was alright, but staying on his feet afterward…not so much. Chase smacked his right hand to the middle of his forehead as Donald helped him stay upright.

"Head rush," they said together.

"Why don't we take it easy heading for the elevator, okay?" Donald recommended. Chase really had no choice but to take it slow; his legs were still rubbery underneath him.

"Why am I so wobbly?" Chase asked once they entered the elevator and he leaned against the wall, though he seemed more interested in information than concerned about the unusual weakness.

"Your muscles absorbed a massive amount of energy…they still need time to rebound and shake it off." explained Donald.

The elevator stopped at the kitchen and Donald stepped out. He was a little surprised to see all of the lights on, and hear the television going in the other room. Looking up he could see Leo, Bree and Adam camped out on the couch from left to right. Donald smiled; Chase was going to get the answers to his questions more promptly than anticipated.

Davenport stepped back slightly and made room for Chase to step into the kitchen in front of him. He kept a hand on the teen's back because he remained unsteady. Bree's delighted cry of, "Chase!" barely made it across the room before she did. Donald had anticipated something of the sort and was ready to catch Chase when Bree knocked him over. But he wasn't prepared for when Adam joined the group and lifted all three of them off the floor.

Bree, being the closest to Adam and hugged by Chase got the worst of the enthusiastic squishing, but she just laughed. Donald had to laugh as well; it was such a relief after all the intensity and uncertainty of the night before to have everybody there and in one piece.

"Adam! Put us down!" Chase called out in fond exasperation from the middle of the pile.

Adam nearly dropped them with the speed he put the group down. He opened his arms wide and took a step back. Davenport could see Adam fighting the impulse to follow the direct order, but at the same time, he didn't want to do any more damage to Chase. Davenport saw Adam's hand go to the remote in his pocket. That was the next thing to address on his very long agenda.

Meanwhile, Bree, Chase and Leo missed all of the by-play. Bree was busy hugging Chase and sympathetically checking his injuries while Leo enjoyed the view from his perch on Adam's back. Then Leo jumped down to get a hug of his own.

"Chase! I'm so glad to see you!" Leo called out with genuine relief in his voice.

"Thanks Leo. You too." Chase warmly hugged the younger boy back.

Davenport was concerned that Chase and Adam might have more difficulty reconnecting, but he needn't have worried. By the time Chase released Leo the bionic brothers were both heading toward each other. Adam engulfed Chase in a bear hug, and Chase returned the gesture with all the strength he could muster.

When the boys broke apart the silence was palpable. Donald knew that there was so much to say, particularly between the two boys, but it didn't have to be addressed immediately. Davenport began to give directions, and then he stopped himself. When he had better phrasing in his head he started again.

"I think it's a good idea for Chase to sit down. Why don't you all go back over to the couch?" Donald suggested.

Obediently the teens headed over toward the living room area. Adam was particularly attentive walking Chase from the kitchen to the couch. While they got settled, Davenport gathered ingredients for a shake for Chase. A can of protein drink, a banana, some milk, ice and a handful of the nutrition pellets all went into the blender. If any of the other kids wanted something to eat, they were on their own.

When Donald joined the group in the living room they were in the middle of quiet conversation. Chase was encased in Leo's blanket sitting between Adam and Bree; Davenport didn't know if they realized they arranged themselves in capsule order. Chase was most concerned about the bruising on Bree's face; as far as Donald could see, the swelling was much less and the black and purple bruising was already fading to yellow around the edges, but this was the first time Chase saw the injury since it happened and he was disturbed. Bree's genetically engineered immune system and her enhanced metabolism were already healing her five times more swiftly than a regular human. If she'd been able to sleep in her capsule, the injury would virtually be gone, but all things considered she was healing quite nicely.

"It's not so bad, Chase," Bree tried to reassure him. She let her long brown hair fall in waves around her face because Chase's dismay made her feel self-conscious.

"It really does look so much better," Leo offered. "Before it was puffy, like out to here and she couldn't even use her right eye…" Leo held his hand inches away from his cheek and squeezed his right eye shut in a pantomime of what Bree looked like earlier.

"Leo!" Donald admonished. Leo might have been oblivious to how his comment affected Adam, but Donald wasn't. But at least he could distract them by offering Chase something to eat. "Here Chase, drink this."

Chase obligingly took the offered shake.

Then Davenport seated himself on the end of the couch near Leo's feet and took a small tool kit out of his pocket. "Adam, may I see the remote?"

Chase's head whipped around to his right and he immediately winced as the muscles in his neck protested. "Why do you still have that thing?" he asked in alarm.

Adam shrugged a little as leaned across Chase and Bree to pass the remote to Donald. "It's okay, Chase. I'm giving myself the orders."

"Which could be a little scary," added Bree as an aside.

Chase keenly watched Donald as he took the casing apart. "Mr. Davenport, has Adam been under the influence of that thing all this time? How long has it been?"

Davenport distractedly responded, "It's just been a few hours…" as he fiddled with the internal mechanics.

"Twelve." Adam stated.

"What?" Chase replied.

"Twelve hours. It's been twelve hours. Douglas got the jump on me right after school on the way home and now it's four in the morning."

Chase was horrified. "Why did you wait so long, Mr. Davenport?"

Donald rolled his eyes. "There's been a lot going on, Chase!" He held up his hand to forestall further conversation. "You keep drinking. I'll take care of this," he gestured to the remote in his hand.

It was unusual to work in front of such an attentive audience. Even Adam, who generally had very little patience or interested in technical things was understandably focused on what Donald was doing. It was unnervingly quiet until Chase got to the bottom of his shake and the silence was shattered by loud slurping sounds.

"Good one!" Adam said approvingly.

He held out his hand for a fist-bump which Chase returned with a grin. Donald grinned too and than said, "Adam, stand on your head."

Adam replied, "With or without my shoes on?"

Leo did a huge double take, and then everyone paused. Donald waited. He caught Chase's eye and winked. They both waited. Bree grabbed Chase's hand and an expression of understanding bloomed on Leo's face. They all waited.

"It makes a difference with the balance, you know?" Adam explained as he remained seated on the couch. Then he blinked. He pointed at Donald. "Hey, wait! You just gave me a direct order."

Davenport laughed. "And you didn't follow it…"

"YES!" Adam exclaimed as he jumped up from the couch and promptly fell over his own feet.

Davenport's brows drew down into a frown as he jumped up and helped Adam back onto the couch. "Hmm…that may be an unaccounted for side-effect…"

Adam was unfazed by his recent encounter with the carpet. "Give me another one," he demanded.

"Go take a bath!" ordered Leo.

"No!" Adam responded gleefully.

"That's not really a challenge, he doesn't do that anyway." snerked Bree. "Go take a lap!" she yelled pointing toward the glass doors out to the patio.

"NO!" Adam yelled back.

"Quiet down," Davenport urged the increasingly noisy group.

"NO!" the three of them yelled back together.

Donald raised his hands in a "be quiet" gesture and pointed at Chase; not that the noise really mattered, he'd fallen asleep with all the yelling so more yelling would most likely not wake him up. In all the excitement about Adam being free from Douglas' remote, Chase curled himself up into a ball and promptly went to sleep.

"What happened?" asked Adam in concern. "Is he…" he changed his volume to a dramatic stage whisper which was just about as loud as his regular speaking voice, "is he supposed to do that?"

Davenport smiled fondly at the lump under the blanket. "I was hoping that would happen." He walked over and reseated himself near Leo. "Right now the best thing for Chase is to sleep, just look at how much Bree has improved with just a few hours of rest. The combination of the protein shake and the bionic pellets should give Chase what he needs to start healing, and the best way for him to do that is getting lots and lots of sleep."

Leo sat with his arms folded across his chest. He nodded as Donald explained but then he added, "But does he need to do it with my blanket?"


	5. Tasha

Life had taken many strange and twisting turns since Tasha Dooley met, fell for and married Donald Davenport. She wasn't sure what she was expecting when she moved into the fabulous home in Mission Creek on "Billionaire's Hill", but a super-secret laboratory housing three bionic teenagers certainly wasn't on the list of imagined perks. That being said, she felt she'd been more than accommodating of Donald's unusual family particularly since they'd been sprung on her all at once. Who was the one who insisted that the kids have a chance to go to school? She was. Who made sure they went on normal family vacations? She did. Who made the effort to give them their own rooms in an effort to bond? It was all her.

In the months that followed the wedding they settled down to a kind of "normal", but nothing was ever routine; it didn't help that the "smart home" avatar Eddie had it in for her since day one. There always seemed to be some sort of calamity waiting to happen, or some new invention that would change the world…but usually ended up doing significant damage to the house in some way. Some days Tasha felt more like a referee or construction site foreman than a mom.

Although Donald sometimes had tunnel vision which made it difficult for him to see outside the bubble of "I'm an awesome genius" he had always supported her in pursuing her career in news casting. He was the one who arranged a trip to New York so she could visit various network studios and get some understanding of how things worked in a big news market. She had an exciting day in New York City and was looking forward to telling him about visiting 30 Rock and getting some first hand experience behind the scenes at the Today Show; it had given her a lot of good ideas for segments they might run on their local news. But Donald didn't call her at their scheduled time – in fact, the call didn't come until much later. As the clock ticked later and later into the night, she silently fumed that Donald lost track of time and forgotten her.

_It's all well and good for him to get caught up in his work, but I'm on east coast time and if I don't get some sleep I'm going to look like half a wreck in the morning. I don't want the Good Morning America executives to see me like that!_

Tasha decided not to sit around waiting for the phone to ring; she went to bed and tried to get some sleep. But sleep was elusive and she took out her frustration on the hotel pillow. When the familiar number finally lit up her cell phone close to midnight, Tasha had moved from a fuming anger to an icy cold. She pushed herself into a seated position against the pillows and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" she answered frostily.

"Tasha!"

She cut him off before he could start a conversation about himself. Tasha wanted to make it perfectly clear that she was unhappy about being made to wait. "So you finally got around to calling me, Donald? So nice of you considering I'm on the other side of the continent…"

Donald spoke right over her. "Tasha, I've chartered a private jet because I know you don't like my personal jet with the auto-pilot." He sounded rattled; distressed. A tendril of dread gripped her heart and melted the icy haughtiness that Tasha was trying to maintain. "Please, I need you to come home."

Tasha sat bolt upright in her bed and clutched the blankets in her free hand. "Leo?" she demanded.

"No, thank God!" Donald sounded genuinely relieved.

"Donald, what is going on?"

"I…it's not something I can discuss over the phone."

Tasha intuitively knew it had to be something to do with the kids if he was being so cagey about his answers. "Is everyone okay?" she asked concerned.

He paused too long before he answered. Tasha threw off the covers and fumbled for the light. "It's complicated…my brother…" Donald replied. A knot of dread sat in the pit of Tasha's stomach as she hunted for her shoes.

"There's so much to do and I…" Donald sighed heavily. "Tasha, I can't do it alone."

"I'm on my way home."

* * *

There were certainly benefits to having a billionaire for a husband, so instead of having to manage transportation to the airport, get a plane ticket and wait for a scheduled boarding time Tasha was home in at least half the time it would take a regular person to travel from New York to California. However, sleeping on the plane was out of the question because no matter how many times Donald assured her that Leo was fine, Tasha couldn't help imagining all of the horrible things that could possibly have happened; he'd been in harm's way too many times for her to rest easy until she saw him herself.

It was a little after 4:00 am when Tasha arrived at the house so she was surprised to see so many lights on. Everyone was gathered and talking in the living room when she burst through the front door but they didn't seem to be expecting her.

Leo's cry of "Mom!" never sounded sweeter and she was utterly relieved when he rushed into her arms for a hug. She tried not to be too obvious inspecting him for bumps and bruises, and he was surprisingly tolerant of her cuddling.

Donald immediately filled her arms when she let Leo go. She was taken aback at the intensity of his hug and how he leaned, more than a little, into her support. "I'm so glad you're here," he whispered into her ear. Her eyes filled with unshed tears as she hugged him back; it was really nice to be wanted.

When Donald let go and stepped away, Tasha was a little surprised that Bree was right there to take his place. What she saw right before she was wrapped up in Bree's hug disturbed her, and though she warmly hugged the girl in return she didn't hang on as long as she had for the others; she needed to get a better look. Tasha stepped out of the hug first but held onto Bree as she moved back for a better look.

"Oh honey…" Tasha gingerly brushed her fingertips along the length of Bree's swollen face. Bree tried to use her hair to hide her face, but Tasha tucked it up behind her ear.

"Oh no, Mom," Leo tried to explain as he raised his right hand to the side of his face and puffed up one cheek, "it's SO much better…" Before he could get any more graphic, Leo took a cue from Donald who was frantically shaking his head 'no'. "Aaand…don't you look lovely after traveling through the night."

In the meantime, Bree disengaged from Tasha and Adam had moved in for a hug of his own. Being engulfed in a hug from Adam was always a tricky proposition; but today he seemed particularly mindful of his strength. It did concern Tasha, however, that Adam appeared unsteady on his feet and he actually needed her to help him balance when he pulled away.

Tasha looked expectantly for Chase; after such a hug-a-palooza she felt incomplete without a greeting from the youngest bionic teen. Her brow creased in concern when he didn't make an appearance. "Donald? Where's Chase?"

Donald nodded his head to the left indicating the couch. "He's sleeping. Which is what the rest of you should be doing…"

Tasha left Donald to herd the rest of the children upstairs and ignored Leo's plaintive complaint of "but Chase has my _blanket_…" as she walked quietly toward the couch. It was very strange to see Chase snuggled under Leo's comforter. When they were sitting around watching movies, Bree occasionally curled up under a throw blanket, but the only one who ever fell asleep was Leo. Tasha had never seen the bionic teens nap and as far as she knew they only ever slept in their capsules. Even when Bree had temporarily moved out of the lab, Donald relocated her capsule up to her bedroom.

Gently so she wouldn't disturb him, Tasha sat on the edge of the couch near Chase's bent legs to get a better look at him. Chase was curled on his left side with his left hand tucked under his face; Tasha smiled at how sweet and peaceful he looked in his sleep, and she reached over to touch his face. Chase's right hand held the blanket securely over his right shoulder, and from what Tasha could see, he was still wearing his mission suit. A shadow on Chase's neck got Tasha's attention but when she moved the blanket for a better look she could see it was a bruise, not a shadow, and it appeared to spread from his throat to the back of his neck.

While Tasha was inspecting Chase, Donald slipped down the stairs and into the kitchen. By the time she looked up to question her husband, Donald was standing behind the couch with an ice pack ready to apply to Chase's neck. Donald readjusted some pillows to hold the cold compress in place, and Chase winced in his sleep reacting to the cold temperature before he slipped back into unconscious slumber.

"Donald…what on earth?" Tasha left the question hanging as Donald gestured her over to the kitchen. He settled himself wearily on a stool at the kitchen counter.

He shook his head for once at a loss for words. There was no simple way to sum it up other than to say, "Douglas".

Tasha jumped into "work-mode" walking around the counter into the kitchen. "I'll make coffee. You start talking."

* * *

Hours later, the house was quiet, and once again they'd slipped back into a level of normal; but looks can be deceiving. Once Donald had explained everything to Tasha to the best of his ability, he vanished back down to the lab. Tasha wasn't completely clear on all of the technical details, but she did understand how urgent it was for Donald to entirely expunge any trace of code or programming Douglas may have left behind when he reprogrammed Chase's capsule. What little she knew about Douglas made her inclined to support Donald's instinct to totally replace everything – from hardware to software. It was a huge undertaking and Donald needed to be in the lab to supervise.

That left Tasha upstairs in charge of the kids. Initially, everyone was sleeping. Then, throughout the morning they arrived one at a time, rumpled and hungry, grazing for food in the kitchen. Even Chase woke up long enough to change into more comfortable clothing and drink a very large, "special" protein shake. It didn't escape her notice that while Chase was sitting and eating with Adam and Bree that Leo pilfered his blanket. Tasha would've made a fuss about it, but Leo returned to the living room with his arms full of a comforter he snatched from Grandma Rose's room.

Tasha had to admit that even in the few short hours since she'd arrived home, everyone had improved physically even without the benefit of their capsules; their genetically enhanced immune systems and metabolism sped up the healing process. The swelling in Bree's face had gone down dramatically and the intense purple bruising had started to fade. Chase's neck and throat were still very stiff and sore in spite of liberal application of ice; but the darkness of his bruises were starting to fade as well. Tasha didn't even know about the knot on the left side of his head until he was up and walking around, but even that had improved throughout the day. Donald insisted that since he couldn't rest in his capsule the best thing for Chase was to sleep as much as possible and take in as much protein and bionic pellets as he could handle.

None of the bionic teens were used to sleeping in a bed or in a space where they were alone; Chase seemed perfectly content to continue sleeping on the couch, and Tasha wanted to keep an eye on him so she didn't insist he move to a bedroom upstairs. The other three were surprisingly tolerant of Chase sleeping right in the middle of everything. Since the movement and noise didn't seem to bother him at all, Tasha let Adam and Leo watch TV as long as they kept the volume to a reasonable level. Bree drifted in and out between the kitchen, living room and her room upstairs. In spite of all four of them being around, it was a fairly quiet day.

It was getting close to dinner time and Tasha was contemplating what vegetable to serve with the hamburgers she was preparing when the doorbell rang. "Leo," she called over to the group on the couch, "can you get the door?"

Leo crawled out of the space he'd been wedged into on the couch between Chase and Bree. As soon as he moved, Bree made herself more comfortable, falling sideways onto a pillow and pulling the throw that had been on her legs up to her torso. Adam had taken up his favorite spot on the floor in front of the couch so Leo had to clamber over his long legs while hopping on one foot to shake out the pins and needles in the other foot. Leo was distracted by trying to return the circulation in his leg, so it took him a moment to register who was on the other side of the door.

"Principal _PERRY_?!" Leo exclaimed with a mixture of distress and disgust. He whipped around and sent Tasha an SOS with his eyes.

Tasha sighed; ever since that one time they'd invited her in at Christmas, Principal Perry found the weirdest times to drop in. The abrasive administrator stretched Tasha's patience on a good day…and this was not such a good day.

Principal Perry, used to Leo's penchant for freaking out and slamming the door, had already stopped the door's motion with one hand and walked right in. Adam looked nearly as alarmed as Leo who remained frozen by the open front door. Bree pulled the blanket higher around her and was feigning sleep. Chase slept on, unfazed by the chaos.

"Principal Perry," Tasha echoed. "What an unexpected surprise." Tasha held up her hands, sticky with ground beef, as she looked for a kitchen towel to wipe them. "It would've been nice if we'd known you were coming…" Tasha glared at Eddie's emoticon on the wall. Tasha knew that Donald immediately upgraded security since Douglas' attack, but apparently Principal Perry wasn't on Eddie's watch list.

"Oh Tasha, " Eddie announced in a sing-song "Principal Perry is here!"

"Thank you, Eddie," Tasha replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Principal Perry didn't seem bothered at all by the voice talking from the wall. "Knowing I was coming would've defeated the purpose," she stated as she stalked into the room. "If I announced my arrival it'd be too easy for people to prepare."

She sniffed the air dramatically. "I don't _smell_ vomit."

Adam sniffed the air as well. "I don't smell vomit either," he agreed. "I do smell Chase's feet…this was probably not a good place to sit." Leo wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Principal Perry, what…?" Tasha tried to ask as she wiped her hands clean.

"The school got a call from Mr. Davenport this morning that _all_ of the children were out with the flu. Well, Dooley looks pretty healthy to me," she accused as she pointed at Leo. "And this one," she pointed at Adam, "doesn't seem any slower than usual…and that's pretty slow…"

Tasha's eyes squinted. She did not like to hear anyone putting Adam down.

"I know that you're a 'blended family'" Principal Perry added air quotes to emphasize her mocking tone, "and that makes it easy for kids to take advantage. I'm sure you had your hands full with Dooley, and now you've got three more! You can't tell a fake sick kid from a real one…"

Tasha squeezed the balled up dish towel in her hands. Her temper was starting to rise.

"But don't you worry," the diminutive principal continued oblivious to Tasha's increasing anger, "I know just how to weed out the fakers…" She pulled an air horn out of the pocket of her blazer and held it right over Chase's head. "First we wake everybody up…"

Tasha gasped. She didn't know much about how the children's bionics worked, but she did know that Chase had a particular sensitivity to loud noises. He was already not on top of his game and there was no telling what distress an air horn in his ear might cause; it might even cause him to glitch.

Something in Tasha snapped. How dare that woman barge into their home and insinuate that she and Donald didn't know how to parent? How dare she use her bullying tactics on these children? Who was this woman to question them? Now, Tasha knew that no one had the flu, but that didn't mean they didn't have genuine reasons for their parents to keep them home.

And in that moment, that's when everything changed. Tasha had always unconsciously organized the children in her head; Leo was hers, and Adam, Bree and Chase were Donald's. There was a line there, faint but hard to cross. Now suddenly, threatened by this power-tripping principal, all of the children were in the category of _"MINE" _and her mama bear instincts kicked in.

"TERRY PERRY!" The sharpness of Tasha's tone got everyone's attention and froze Principal Perry before she could sound the air horn.

Tasha slammed down the dish towel with her left hand, and pointed forcefully at the startled woman with her right. Then she stalked out of the kitchen directly toward her. "You will NOT wake anybody up!" Tasha snatched the air horn out of Principal Perry's hand, but she didn't stop walking which forced the other woman to back up.

"You will NOT determine who does or does not deserve to be kept home from school." Principal Perry continued to scuttle backwards in the face of Tasha's relentless forward motion

"You will NOT question the way this blended family is parented." Principal Perry had lost all the ground she had gained upon entrance and was on the far side of the door.

"And the next time you feel like dropping in…DON'T!" Tasha shut the door with a resounding slam.

Tasha glared at the closed door and took a deep breath. She let it out and took another. When she turned around the looks on the kids' faces made her laugh. All of them were shocked, but there was something else there too. Leo was looking at her with something akin to awe and Adam was impressed. Bree's expression was a little more complex; she was impressed, but she was grateful too – she understood a little more than the boys did the importance of what just happened. Chase, emerging from under his blanket cocoon just looked confused.

"What did I miss?"


	6. Chase

It had been a little over twenty-four hours since Douglas invaded the lab and pretty much wrecked everything. Chase didn't remember much of what had happened; first because he glitched out and Spike took over, and then because he was either unconscious or sleeping. It felt very strange to be so disconnected from all of the events going on and still be at the center of them.

It was also strange to be craving so much sleep. It made sense intellectually; Chase understood that without the benefit of his capsule, his body had to regenerate using human, not bionic, processes. In order for his body to heal with the most efficiency he needed to be asleep. It was just that he'd never felt such a need before and it was weird. Chase didn't mind giving in to the sensation, especially when wrapped up in a cozy blanket, but he was looking forward to things getting back to normal.

In the meantime, Tasha had set him and Adam up in one of the guest rooms, smugly pointing out that since it was no longer a game room they would have a place to sleep. Chase really didn't mind sleeping on the couch, but it seemed like it was important to Tasha that everyone be settled for the night in a real bed, so he just went with it. If nothing else, it would be a new experience.

Chase was surprised by how much the simple act of walking up the stairs wiped him out. By the time he had changed into his soft, grey sleep gear and brushed his teeth he was ready to collapse and the bed looked awfully inviting. Chase crawled under the covers and settled down with a sigh; Adam could take care of turning off the lights.

Like he had earlier in the day, when Chase closed his eyes to relax he extended his bionic senses to check on everyone else before he let himself slip down into slumber. Mr. Davenport was in the lab which was fairly sound proof so Chase didn't expect to be able to track him. But his bionic hearing told him that Tasha was puttering down on the first floor, Bree was on the phone with Kaitlyn and Leo was gaming in his room. Adam, of course, was close by and his footsteps indicated that he was heading back to the room they shared.

Chase allowed his bionic senses to mute and let the normal sound of Adam preparing for bed soothe him. A short time later Adam was settled and turned off the light on the small table between their beds. Maybe it was because he'd been sleeping so much throughout the past day, but Chase didn't immediately fall asleep. He could tell by his fidgeting and breathing that Adam wasn't sleeping either.

Finally Adam blurted into the darkness, "Sleeping in a bed is so _weird_!"

Chase chuckled at his big brother's exasperation. Adam was immediately contrite. "Sorry, Chase! Did I wake you up?"

"Nope," Chase reassured him. "Not sleeping yet." Chase rubbed his eyes in the dark and rolled over to face Adam. "Didn't you sleep in here last night?"

Chase could see Adam laying stiffly on his back on top of the blankets staring at the ceiling. "Nah. I couldn't sleep." _It's really no surprised if that's they way you tried to do it,_ Chase thought to himself. "I tried the closet…" Adam continued.

Chase frowned. "You slept in the closet?"

"It didn't work…" Adam turned to look at Chase. "I'm not sure what was worse, trying to sleep like this…" he waved his hand as his stiff, prone body, "or being alone."

Chase understood that. One big benefit to napping on the couch all day was constantly being surrounded by people; there was always someone in the living room or kitchen. It was very reassuring.

"So what did you do?" asked Chase.

"I went into Leo's room." Adam turned to look at the ceiling again. "That was better."

"Mmm…" Chase agreed. His eyes closed against their will and he could feel the siren call of sleep tugging him down once again.

Adam sat up abruptly and swung his legs off of the bed. "I should just go. I'll probably just keep you awake."

It took Chase a moment to catch up with Adam's declaration. His sleep-fogged brain didn't make the connection until Adam was across the room and had the door halfway open. "Wait! What?" Chase rubbed his eyes furiously and propped himself up on his left elbow. The idea of Adam leaving made Chase uncomfortably anxious. "Adam, where are you going?"

Light spilled in from the hallway illuminating Adam's forlorn expression. It didn't make any sense to Chase.

Adam remained hovering near the door. "I totally understand if sharing a room with me freaks you out and I really can't blame you and Leo didn't mind me sleeping in his room last night…well, technically he didn't know about it until I woke him up, but this time I won't knock anything over…"

"Adam, stop!" Chase demanded. It was too much information and it _still_ wasn't making sense. But it was never easy for Adam to cease babbling once he started.

"And it should be okay if I just don't have that nightmare again…" Adam swallowed hard and dropped eye contact. Then he very deliberately switched tracks. "…and anyway I'm not the one who needs to get some sleep, you're the one who has to keep healing and how can you do that," Adam bit his lower lip as his very sad, un-Adam-like expression morphed into a mask of guilt, "…if you have to share a room with a guy you hate?"

That was it! Chase shook his head in the negative, and then drew his legs up toward his chest and threw off the blankets. He quickly stood up - which was a mistake…damn head rush – and lost his balance, knocking into the table.

"Hey! Don't…you're still wobbly!" In his concern, Adam forgot his own agenda and rushed over to steady Chase. Chase deliberately took advantage and when he sat back down on the bed he pulled Adam down to sit next to him. Too late, Adam realized he hadn't made his escape.

"Adam. What are you talking about?" Chase demanded.

Adam refused to look Chase in the eye and became very absorbed looking at the trapezoid of light spilling in from the hallway through the open door.

"It's okay, I don't blame you for hating me," Adam said softly.

Chase's brow creased with frustration; as brilliant as he was designed to be, sometimes it was hard to connect with Adam's ideas when he threw out non-sequiturs like that. Chase quickly realized that more important than understanding Adam's train of thought was addressing the imagined problem.

Again, Chase shook his head in the negative. "Adam, I don't hate you."

"After what I did to you? How could you not?" Adam's voice was filled with desperation.

"That was Douglas, not you! Adam," Chase tugged on Adam's arm to force him to turn and look at his face, "it wasn't your fault."

When Adam looked up to meet his gaze, Chase was stunned by the level of self-loathing in his brother's expression. It made him furious that Douglas left these wounds behind. Physically he and Bree were healing little by little, but this damage to Adam was much more troubling.

"Look what I did to you, Chase!" With a feather-light touch Adam reached over and placed his left hand over the bruises that encircled Chase's throat. Chase didn't mean to flinch, but even the slightest pressure caused a reaction. Adam gasped and tore his hand away, but not before Chase saw the desperate guilt on his brother's face.

Anticipating that Adam would attempt to flee again, Chase grabbed his forearm and twisted on the bed so he could face his brother. "YOU didn't do this to me, Adam. Douglas was the one…"

"But I couldn't stop it." Adam countered. Chase was stunned to realize that he could feel Adam shaking beneath his grip. "I could see everything. I could _feel_ all of it, but I couldn't stop. And I almost killed you…"

"Do you blame me for the injuries I've given you when I was in Commando Mode?" Chase asked.

"Of course not," Adam retorted, like Chase's question was completely ridiculous. "That's a glitch. You can't control it."

"Adam…" Chase reasoned, "It's exactly the same thing. You weren't in control of your bionics when Douglas was using the remote. How can I blame you for that?"

Adam would not let himself off the hook. "I almost choked you to death because Douglas thought it would be great if Mr. Davenport had to watch me kill you…I remember…" Adam's left hand clenched into a fist against his thigh. "I remember all of it."

"But you don't," Chase interjected.

"But I don't, what?" Adam snapped.

"Remember all of it, if that's where you keep stopping."

"Oh, because remembering using my electro-blast-thingy to knock you unconscious is so much better," snapped Adam angrily.

Chase knew he was skating on thin ice; an angry Adam was never easy to deal with. He tended to be explosive and with all of his pent-up emotions a glitch was very likely. His eyes had already started to glow and Chase knew he needed to talk him down quickly.

"No, after that," Chase insisted. "Bree and Leo told me what happened." Chase tugged again and made Adam look him in the face. "Adam, you did the most amazing thing."

Adam scoffed and shook his head.

"I mean it." Chase persisted. "You did something that no one in the history of bionics has ever done. You completely defied your programming."

Adam was staring at the spill of light on the floor again, but at least he seemed to be listening. "I know you feel bad about hurting me in the fight; and I feel bad about hurting you too…but when it came down to it, you wouldn't let Douglas erase me."

Chase didn't want to come off like a big baby, but he couldn't prevent the waver in his voice as he continued. "That's my worst nightmare, Adam…it terrifies me that one day Spike will take over permanently." Chase took a deep breath to get himself refocused because now he was the one shaking. "But you wouldn't let Douglas do that to me."

Adam reached over with his free hand and covered that hand Chase was holding him with. "I never would," said Adam seriously.

"I know. And that's the thing…I've always known that." Chase debated for about half a second what to say next, but it was more important for him to clear the air between them than to save face.

"It's why I can do what I do…" Adam looked over questioningly; his eyes had reverted to their normal, deep brown color. "When we're out on a mission, and things get hairy and I need just a few more seconds to think…I know that no matter what's coming at me, I've got enough time to figure the problem out because anything that's coming at me has to get through you first."

Adam shrugged it off like it was obvious. "Of course."

"All day today, every time I woke up even a little bit, I'd listen to hear where you were. Not Bree or Leo or Tasha…I'd listen for you. You were always nearby – on the couch, on the floor, in the kitchen. I knew I could go right back to sleep because you were right there, and everything was okay."

Adam released Chase, rested his forearms on his thighs and leaned over slightly. There was much less tension in his frame. He glanced over and Chase was relieved to see that much of Adam's distress and guilt had ebbed away; it wasn't all gone, but at least he wasn't freaking out and on the verge of glitching. "After everything I…Douglas…made me do, you really trust me like that?"

"Yeah," Chase smiled, "and you can't trust someone you hate, so you can stop thinking that I do." Adam smiled back.

A huge yawn took Chase by surprise.

Adam stood. "Alright, Sleeping Beauty, let's get you tucked back in again so you can get your beauty rest."

"But…"Chase protested even as Adam pushed him over.

"I'm not going anywhere," Adam reassured him. "Well, I'm closing the door, and then I'm not going anywhere." he amended.

Chase had to stifle a chuckle when Adam stubbed his toe on the bedpost on his return trip. His indignant declaration that "Capsules are so much better than beds!" made Chase feel like things were really getting back to normal. In the darkness Chase rolled toward the left so he was facing Adam's bed. This time, Adam settled himself under the blankets and rolled to his right to face Chase. As sleep came to claim him, Chase easily let go knowing his brother would be there, just like he always was.


	7. Leo

**I'm ridiculously excited about the return of Douglas and was determined to get this chapter up before the new season started! Enjoy!**

* * *

Leo sat at his Mission Specialist console pretending he had something to do. It wasn't like there was something he _could_ do; there was no "official" mission to research or plan. Davenport's bionic teens weren't going anywhere until they were all one hundred percent back on their feet. Adam had gotten over the tripping over his feet thing after getting his bionics completely back under his control, so he was in pretty good shape. Bree's face was back to normal, so she was good to go too. But Chase still had a ring of bruises on his throat and was easily fatigued. So at this point, their _un_official mission was Chase.

Leo swiveled around in his chair; looking around the lab you'd hardly know that thirty-six hours ago it was a complete wreck, with literal wreckage all over the place. Although nearly all of the equipment had been replaced, from the capsules to the cyber desk, it hardly appeared like anything had changed at all. Even the hole in the rock wall where Bree had been handcuffed had been fixed. But in reality, everything had changed, and it would take more than duct tape and fresh spackle to get it all back on track.

Adam and Bree had about as much to do as Leo - which was to say nothing – but they were just as reluctant to leave the lab as he was. Bree sat curled into a chair half-heartedly leafing through her Teen Dream magazines and Adam prowled the perimeter of the lab, too restless to sit in one place for any amount of time. The three of them acknowledged each other in silence and waited for Mr. Davenport and Chase to be ready.

Over by the capsule console, Mr. Davenport and Chase huddled over multiple screens showing hundreds of lines of code that Leo couldn't comprehend; they were scrolling so fast that only Chase could make sense of them. It was hard not to hear the echo of Douglas' threat hanging over everything - _With a push of this button I can wipe out your programming and make that glitch I just saw your default setting. –_ it was that threat which drove Mr. Davenport to replace every piece of equipment in the lab, damaged or not; it was what kept him from sleeping for the last 48 hours; it was what made him show Chase every new line of code before asking him to step back into his capsule.

Chase nodded at Mr. Davenport and took a step back. Leo felt something clench in his gut; this was it. He had total confidence in Big D, he really did…but Leo knew he wasn't the only one feeling apprehensive about what was going to happen next. Leo had no doubt that Mr. Davenport would never ask Chase to go back in his capsule until he was absolutely certain that every bit of what Douglas reprogrammed had been completely erased. But at the same time…he was also certain that Douglas was a vindictive, crazy psycho who was a better programmer than Big D, and there was a lingering concern that maybe, just maybe, a tiny bit of code had been missed.

Leo got up out of his chair. Adam and Bree drew closer.

"Okay, Chase…are you ready?" asked Mr. Davenport.

"I think so." Chase's expression was determined, but Leo could see the anxiety in his hazel eyes.

Mr. Davenport looked concerned. He reached out to grasp Chase's shoulder. "Chase, this is not a race or a contest. There's no rush."

"No time like the present," Chase took a deep breath but remained standing where he was, "'cause the longer we wait the worse this will get."

Leo tried to think of something funny or encouraging to say, but there is no funny way to say, "Step right in to what may possibly be the end of life as you know it, buddy."

Before two days ago, Leo hadn't given much thought to Chase's Commando Mode glitch. Up until then, Spike was a rare inconvenience but he was also kind of entertaining. But then Douglas decided to wipe out every goofy, genius, annoying and amazing thing that made Chase be Chase and make Spike permanent. Douglas didn't even give it a second thought, but it had been on Leo's mind constantly since then. It was hard to pin down what was worse, listening to Douglas gloat that he was going to reprogram Chase because Spike was more useful to him, rather than leave Chase's lifeless body behind, or listening to Chase beg Adam to release him from his capsule knowing there was no way for Adam to comply. Both were pretty awful.

Leo tried to shake off his negative thoughts and project positive, reassuring vibes. Chase came to some sort of decision and took the first step forward. Bree, Leo and Mr. Davenport moved to give him room, but Adam followed right behind Chase, close enough to be his shadow. Once Chase was in motion, Mr. Davenport started talking through the procedure.

"This is going to be quick and easy. Just a quick scan of your vitals. In and out of the capsule." Big D was trying to keep his voice light, but Leo thought he could hear the tension in it.

Leo watched as Chase approached the center capsule. He hesitated slightly before reaching up to pull open the capsule door, but once it was open he immediately stepped up and walked in. Again, Adam was right there, standing sentry in the space between his capsule and Chase's. But Adam didn't close the door; he waited for Chase to do it. Something passed between the brothers – a glance, an understanding – then Chase closed the capsule door.

Leo could read the monitors well enough to see that Chase's heart rate was elevated from his apprehension; Mr. Davenport didn't hesitate. He pushed a button, a blue light similar to the one that produced the mission suits scanned up and down the capsule. When the light blinked off, Chase threw open the capsule door. He stumbled in his haste and would've face-planted if Adam hadn't been right there to catch him.

"It's okay, right?" Chase took a deep breath, but Leo could see a grin starting to form. Both Chase and Adam looked expectantly at Mr. Davenport.

Big D started to smile as well. "Yeah, it's okay."

Adam whooped and shook Chase like a rag doll; for once, Chase didn't complain. Bree sped around the console and threw her arms around the boys. Leo did the same thing on the other side.

All of the tension and worry that had been building up for days was released in a rush and Leo felt giddy. He was pretty sure Adam was the only thing keeping Chase upright. He took a slight step back and held Chase at arm's length.

"Do you feel the need to tear anyone's head off?" Leo queried.

"No," laughed Chase.

"Do you feel compelled to rip anyone's heart out?" Leo continued.

Chase shook his head, a happy grin plastered to his face. "No."

"Do you have an unexplained urge to run around, mangle things and cause overall destruction and chaos?"

"No," Chase chuckled, and Leo pretended not to see the sheen of tears that had gathered in his eyes.

Leo threw up his hands like a referee signaling a touch down. "We're good!"

And they were.

* * *

Hours later, after dinner, Leo was up in his room. He was tired, but still a little too wired to relax enough to fall asleep. Once Chase had been assured that closing the door on the capsule and running a procedure wouldn't turn him into Spike, Mr. Davenport started an endless series of tests. Eventually, Bree and Adam got hooked into analysis as well and once again Leo was a third wheel – well, technically he was the fifth wheel…

He was sitting on his bed fiddling with a hand-held game that couldn't keep his attention. It surprised Leo when his three bionic siblings knocked on his door.

"Hey, Leo…can we come in?" Of course Bree was the one to ask; the boys would've just walked in, but Bree tried to give others privacy in the hope that they'd give some to her. Too bad that never worked out for her.

Leo waved them in. Bree sat down next to Leo on the bed, Chase sat in his chair and Adam leaned against the closet.

Chase made a face. There was plenty of room on the bed and another chair where Adam could sit. "Adam, what are you doing?"

Adam shrugged, "It's my spot."

"How're you feeling, Chase?" Leo asked. The youngest bionic teen still looked a little weary, though he had graduated back to solid food for dinner; it made Mom really happy.

"I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep in my capsule." Chase responded. "I think I'll be feeling a lot better in the morning."

Silence fell among them. For once Leo was at a loss for words. He looked at the game in his hands.

Bree broke the moment by reaching out to touch Leo's arm. "We just wanted to come up here to say thank you."

Leo blinked, surprised.

"Things have been pretty crazy around here, and we didn't want you to get lost in the shuffle," added Adam, much more serious than usual.

Chase leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. He waited until Leo made eye contact, and then he held his gaze. "We wouldn't be here without you, Leo. Thanks."

Leo was a little overwhelmed. He often griped about not getting any credit, but this much sincere congratulations was too much to take.

He shifted his gaze between the three bionic siblings. "Adam's the one who resisted the remote…and Bree swooped in to get Chase…"

"But you're the one who used Eddie to take everything offline," countered Bree.

"Which was Chase's idea…" Leo gestured to the teen in the chair.

"It might have been my idea," agreed Chase, "but you were the one who made it work. No one would've blamed you for looking out for your own safety and staying hidden. But you confronted Douglas head-on…"

"With no exoskeleton…" Adam chimed in.

"If you hadn't stepped up," Chase continued with a slight waver in his voice, "Adam and Bree would've been Douglas' mindless soldiers, and I would've been dead, or worse."

Chase looked away then, and Leo swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. There had been so much going on to keep them busy the past few days that he hadn't taken the time to think about what had gone on when Douglas invaded. And at the time, he hadn't been able to think much either as he crouched under his console; he was too frightened. Douglas was creepy and scary. It was easy to throw around the word "psycho", but Douglas really was. He saw Adam, Bree and Chase as objects to be possessed, as weapons to be used; he didn't see them as people at all, and that was terrifying.

Leo, however, had always seen them as people - incredible, irritating people. "I couldn't let him take you guys. I couldn't let him hurt you. You're my family." Leo looked around the room meeting the gaze of each of his siblings. "I love you."

They weren't normally a touchy-feely group, but recent events had changed things. Bree slid closer and wrapped her arms around Leo. Maybe a few salty tears were shed into her hair when she whispered, "thank you" into his ear.

When she stood up, Leo stood as well. Adam walked over from the closet and loomed in front of him. "I think your non-bionic, little brother heart is at least as big as mine," he said before lifting Leo off the floor in a bear-hug. Adam gently put Leo back on his feet, and Leo was glad to see that the glimmer of his playful, fun-loving, partner-in-crime was back in his eyes. "Thank you."

Adam and Bree moved toward the door as Chase rose from the chair. Leo was surprised to see so much emotion in Chase's face, but he had a pretty good understanding of all the things Chase couldn't say since he'd inadvertently overheard the conversation between Chase and Adam the night before. It was clear Chase didn't know where to start, so Leo beat him to it.

Leo threw his arms around Chase and squeezed him hard. "You're welcome. I'm so glad you're Chase, Chase."

Chase's head dropped onto Leo's shoulder as he tightly squeezed him back. Maybe Chase shed a few salty tears of his own – Leo would never tell.

As his bionic siblings filed out of his room and headed toward the lab for a good night's sleep, Leo felt much more at ease; like a burden had been lifted. He wasn't looking for recognition for his part in their latest adventure, but he was so grateful for his sibling's appreciation. He wasn't bionic, and probably never would be – especially if Mom had anything to say about "upgrades" and implants – but he knew he had a place and would always be part of the team.


	8. Insert squee here

How excited am I? I am SO FLIPPING excited!

If you haven't yet watched the Lab Rats season 3 premiere, read no further. But come back after you see it and you can squee with me.

Seriously…spoilers abound below!

Spoilers

Spoilers

Spoilers

You've been warned...

* * *

First of all, I love evil, yet fun, Douglas. LOVE HIM! I'm a little sad that his new partner isn't Marcus reincarnated, but if I'd been paying attention I would've seen that the new guy behind the mask was way to big to be Marcus. I like that he's a little more menacing and doesn't take the kids' welfare into account – he wants what he wants and the next thing on his agenda is dead bionic teens. Good times! How much h/c fic does this guy open things up to?! SO MUCH!

But the thing that makes me the happiest (because it was the theory I proposed in my "Invasion" fic) is that the human side of the bionic teens can override the Triton app. I LOVE that Leo's bond with Chase is the thing that breaks through. I LOVE that they took an example from an episode we'd obviously be familiar with and made it into something more. I also love that the show brings abilities back into play – of course Chase's ability to override Bree and Adam makes perfect sense in that situation – they didn't invent some random new thing, they used something that has already been established. Excellent!

At the same time…loved Adam's new (to us and his siblings) ability to breathe under water. (I wonder how he figured that out…in the bathtub?) And I liked that it's now been established that 2 abilities can be used simultaneously, but that there's a dangerous side to that too.

Yay! \0/ I'm far too excited about the start of season 3! What did you all think?


	9. Donald - Epilogue

**Final chapter - I hope you all have enjoyed the fic!**

* * *

Donald Davenport lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. It had been a good day, a _successful_ day. The house was quiet, the security system was extra secure and everyone was asleep. Everyone except him.

He threw his arm over his eyes with his elbow pointed at the ceiling and tried to keep his sighing to a minimum to avoid waking Tasha. Even though he knew that forcing himself to lie there in bed was not going to make his body go back to sleep he still gave it the ol' college try.

Lying prone on a bed didn't stop Donald's thoughts from racing. But instead of his mind being filled with ideas for new technology, all he could think about was Douglas and the damage he had caused. The physical destruction in the lab was annoying, but machines and furniture were easy enough to replace. The physical damage to the kids was worse; though the bruises were fading, Donald didn't think he'd ever be able to shake the mental pictures of Bree and Chase that kept popping into his head. But the worst was the expression on Chase's face right before he stepped back into his capsule for the first time. Douglas had stolen something from them – a trust, peace of mind, confidence – and Donald wasn't sure they'd ever get it back.

This just wasn't going to work. Donald put his arm down and kicked the blankets off of his legs. It didn't matter that no alarms were going off and that his brain knew that all the kids were sleeping, safe and sound; he had to get up and check. He needed to see them for himself, and then maybe he would be able to get some sleep. Donald tried to get out of bed without waking Tasha; although his loud breathing didn't rouse her, she knew when he was getting up.

Gently she reached over to touch his arm, not to keep him from going, but to let him know she understood. Her eyes were bright in the dark bedroom and he was overwhelmed with gratitude to have a partner in all of this. He leaned in for a swift kiss, and already his heart was lighter as he began his trek.

Leo was first, just a few doors down. Donald knew that noise was unlikely to wake Leo, so he pushed the door wide enough to be able to peek in. At first all he could see was a mess, but as his eyes adjusted he could make out one foot poking out from under the pile of blankets on the bed. It was a miracle the kid didn't suffocate himself every night, but that was not a battle Donald was willing to take on.

One kid all tucked in and no danger in sight – three more to go.

Donald softly padded downstairs, through the kitchen and to the elevator. Moments later the elevator doors silently opened onto the small office area, and Donald strode through the grey, double doors emblazoned with the Davenport Industries logo into the lab.

The muted lights of the lab served as a backdrop for the capsules. Donald smiled as his gaze immediately went to Chase in the center capsule. The youngest bionic teen had only been sleeping in his capsule for a few hours, but all of the bruising on his neck was finally gone, and the exhaustion in his face had been erased. The tension Donald didn't realize he was carrying around in his chest eased just a bit.

Flicking his gaze to his right, Donald looked to Bree. She looked just as peaceful as Chase; her features had returned to normal, and in her sleep Donald thought she looked sweet and serene. Normally Bree was a messy sleeper – as sleepy as one could be standing upright in a capsule – but Donald had increased the oxygen content of the capsules and added some airborne supplements to amplify the bionic healing process which sent Chase and Bree into a deeper slumber than normal; Bree would most likely be as still as a statue all night.

Donald looked over to his left and his heart gave a lurch in his chest. He missed a step as he was walking forward as his body reacted to what he saw; or didn't see. Adam's capsule was empty.

A thousand horrible thoughts raced through Donald's head – all of them centering on Donald and his remote - as his pulse raced in his ears drowning out the sounds of the lab. He rushed forward not knowing exactly what he was going to do next when he saw a dark head beyond the console in front of the capsules.

Donald froze in his tracks, but at least now he was far enough into the lab to see that Adam hadn't vanished, he just wasn't in his capsule. Adam was seated with his arms crossed in the space between his capsule and Chase's. His head was tipped back and his shoulders were leaning against Chase's capsule; his long legs were stretched out into the space in front of his own. He appeared to be sound asleep.

"Adam!" Donald involuntarily called out in a tone caught between exasperation and relief. He immediately slapped his hand over his mouth, not wishing to disturb the oldest bionic teen, but it was too late.

Adam's eyes snapped open. Donald was surprised when Adam didn't even look in his direction. Instead he rotated one-hundred and eighty degrees. "Chase?"

Adam unsteadily rose to his feet and with his right hand reached over to open the door to Chase's capsule. "I'll get you out," Adam earnestly whispered.

"Adam, wait!" Donald called out.

Adam paused; in his not-quite-awake state he still wasn't sure where the voice calling his name was coming from, though he did look around. His dream-fogged brain was still trying to convince him that it was Chase saying his name. Donald moved swiftly around the console, approaching Adam from Bree's side.

He placed his hand over Adam's on the latch to Chase's capsule; not to stop him, but to make contact and maybe wake Adam up a little more. Donald's gesture seemed to do the trick. Adam blinked and asked, "Mr. Davenport?"

Donald smiled what he hoped was a reassuring smile. He kept his voice pitched low and responded, "Are you okay, Adam?"

With his free left hand, Adam wiped the sleep from his eyes. "Not me…Chase."

"He's sleeping, see?" Donald prompted. "He's just fine."

Adam looked at Chase sleeping in his capsule. Donald was surprised to see so much anxiety and concern in Adam's normally cheerful face. Donald patted Adam's hand to get his attention and then nodded toward the cyber desk, indicating they should take their conversation over there.

Adam turned and shuffled over to the stools, still weighed down by sleep. Donald was glad he was walking behind his oldest son; it gave him a chance to school his expression – he didn't need Adam to see how furious he was. Inside Donald was filled with rage that Douglas had caused so much unintended damage, and he was mad at himself because he'd spent so much time focused on Chase's physical recovery that he didn't realize Adam needed help too.

Once they were seated at the cyber desk – Adam deliberately chose a stool where he could sit and face the capsules – Donald was at a loss at where to begin. But when it came to Adam, being straightforward was always the best bet.

"How come you're not sleeping in your capsule?" Donald asked quietly.

"I thought I should keep watch. I didn't mean to fall asleep." Adam responded, but he didn't make eye contact.

Donald was surprised to realize that Adam wasn't being honest, at least not completely – one more thing to add to the growing list of injury caused by Douglas.

"I upgraded all the security," reassured Donald. "And Eddie has been recalibrated to alert me to any unusual activity. If a squirrel farts in a tree, I'll know about it."

Adam snorted. "Farting squirrels…" Donald was glad to hear Adam chuckle.

"But you're not worried about danger from outside, are you?" Donald prompted.

Donald was surprised by the level of distress in Adam's face when he looked up and made eye contact. "I keep having this dream…" Adam abruptly looked away and changed what he was saying. "What if he needs help?"

There was only one "he" Adam could be talking about, and Donald was pretty sure that Adam's "dream" was more like a nightmare.

"Adam, you'll always help Chase when he needs it. And, he knows that." Adam nodded but he didn't seem convinced. "But you need to know it too." Donald continued.

Adam's brows creased. "What do you mean?"

"Adam, you did something Douglas never anticipated, because he's always looked at you guys like objects and not people. He just assumed that once your bionics were under his control, you'd just do whatever he wanted."

"Well, I did," Adam argued.

"Until Chase's life was on the line. And then the big brother in you became more important than all the bionics under Douglas' control. It was your heart that was making the choices, not his remote."

"That's what Leo said," Adam mused.

"You did something incredible," Donald continued, "you defied your programming – not because bionics made you strong or fast or smart, but because losing Chase was not an option."

"That's pretty much what Chase said," Adam admitted.

"Well, they're both pretty smart…not as smart as me, but we're all on the same page." stated Donald. Adam nodded in agreement.

"Look," Donald continued, "there's still a lot we have to work through, but right now this is all you need to know…we won, everyone's safe and nothing bad is going to happen tonight."

"Okay," Adam agreed.

Donald slid off of his stool and urged Adam to his feet. "Let's get you back in your capsule." Adam stood up as well, but seemed reluctant until Donald added, "I think I'll stay down here and work for a while."

"You will?"

Adam's relief was so evident that Donald was glad he'd made the spontaneous decision to stay. In short order, Adam was settled in his capsule. He tossed one last look at Chase to assess his status before he gave Donald a thumbs-up and closed his eyes. Although he had no healing to do, Donald decided to pump the enriched oxygen like he'd given to the others into Adam's capsule as well; maybe if he slept deeply enough he could avoid that nightmare for the rest of the night.

It always amazed Donald how quickly the kids fell asleep in their capsules. It was a function of their bionics and the routine of needing to recharge, but it was a strange phenomenon nonetheless. Donald read the console readouts until Adam's vital signs indicated that he was soundly asleep. Then he pulled a rolling chair over to the capsule console and snagged one of Bree's magazines to read.

Slowly, in the dim light of the lab, listening to the soft breathing coming from the capsules, Donald was finally able to relax. His thoughts stilled as he was reassured that his family was safe and sound. The rest of the fallout could be addressed another day.


End file.
